Theodore stared at yet another dirt path leading up yet another hill. He had expected a lot of hill climbing going up the mountain. What he had not expected was the constant up and down. The appearance of the top of something only to realize that the path led downward again or worse completely disappeared. Since they had left two days before, the weather had held surprisingly well for such a late day in autumn. It did not take an experienced outdoorsman to realize that their luck was starting to run out.

“Do you smell that?” Theodore asked Melinda. The two of them led the small group up another hill along what they hoped was the path. After the first few days, the path had narrowed to nothing more than an animal path. It appeared to be going in the right direction. They had given up trying to figure out what Melinda had seen from the tent city. The best they could hope for was that wherever the other children had been led, it had been somewhere over the mountain, since that was where they were heading.

Melinda made a snorting sound and it quickly became apparent that she was not going to be able to smell much for at least a few days. “I can’t smell anything with my nose like this,” she said.

“It is that last spring smell of snow,” Theodore said. “I think our days of good weather are going to be behind us soon.”

Melinda wrapped her arms around herself and seemed to squeeze. The trip had taken its toll worst on her. Besides getting sick, she had slowed down since her first spry day. It was a surprise since if Theodore were to guess one person who would be successful on this trip, it would have been Melinda. She had spent so much of her days wandering the camp and even the areas outside of the tent city, that they expected that she was better ready for the challenge than the rest of them. While that first day she had done well in pushing them ahead of whoever might have been following, she waned quickly the next morning. It might have been her cold or something else, but whatever it was she took it in a resolute silence, not wanting to admit defeat or even tiredness. Whenever possible she led to the front to show everyone that she was going to make it. Theodore had tried to slow down the group to give her a chance to rest a bit. He explained his reasoning and did not get any complaints from Trident or Samuel.

Samuel approached from behind. “The clouds tell the same story,” he said. “It is going to be a nasty rain fall.”

“You mean snow fall,” Melinda said, her voice sounding hoarse as she spoke. “We are above the snow line. It will snow tonight.”

Nobody answered. They had lived their entire lives in the tent city, and while they watched the upper parts of the mountain slowly cover over with orange snow, the snow never made it to them. The winter brought cold and rain and plenty of orange dust, but it never brought snow. Some winters they would find ice mixed in with the rain causing icy puddles to form around and in the tent city. But that orange ice would quickly melt each morning.

There was an apprehension and excitement about the snow. They had read about it in the books that Melinda constantly smuggled in front the old women’s tents and from other children.

Theodore pulled his clothing tighter against himself. He was glad he bundled all of his clothing in his bag before leaving the tent. It was much colder outside without the tent, and with each evening the temperature felt like was dropping as the continued to wind their way up the mountain. The vegetation, which had been plentiful at the forest level, slowly changed and became less frequent. They were climbing through different temperate regions, and with it the autumn season seemed to be shifting.

As they travelled, they found signs of the children and guards who were ahead of them. There were fire pits and some waste they had left behind. They seemed to be moving much faster than they were, as they never seemed to be gaining on them. If anything, it felt as if they were a day ahead of them. They tried to keep close lookout on the paths ahead for signs that they were too close, but as they walked up the hill, and their legs began to fail them, they began to think less about it. The small amount of food they had taken from the pantry was holding up well, and they had found dirty water that was drinkable on the paths. The dust was heavier in the mountains than they expected, and much of their food and clothing was now coated with its color-changing properties.

The snow arrived during the early evening after they had stopped walking. It grew darker earlier this high up in the mountain, and the huddled with their bags and belongings surrounding them to try to keep warm. The snowflakes were large and appeared to glow a dull orange in the evening. They were first thrilled by the snow. It was much nicer than the rain. It did not drench them immediately, and seemed to fall off of them.

“It is so quiet with the snow falling,” Trident said. She had gotten up and was playing with the snow with her hands still wrapped in canvas that made for their gloves.

Except for Melinda, who stayed huddled under her blankets and the extra blankets they had brought, everyone else spent a bit of time playing in the snow. “It really is amazing,” Theodore agreed.

They played for another half hour until the cold and their general exhaustion took their toll. They returned to Melinda and found her shivering. Their laughter quickly died away and they all huddled close to her to give her their warmth.

The snow slowly turned to a slow drizzle during the evening, and they awoke cold and wet in the morning. Melinda seemed better for the night’s rest, even if a bit cold and wet, and they began their day with a dried biscuit and some fruit. They ripped open the fruit and sucked on the flesh before swallowing it whole as they had been taught. The fruit was fresher than they expected, and they managed to eat it outside with only minimal spoiling by the orange dust.

They started down the hill that led away from where they camped the previous evening. Samuel had recommended camping on the far side of the hill so their morning starts would be easier. “It’s easier to start downhill on a new journey,” he told them. “I read that somewhere.” While Theodore felt it might have been easier to sleep on the far side of the hill so it would have better protected them from the wind, he did take comfort in Samuel’s statement. The more they walked, the less Samuel had to say. He continued on his way, walking at the same strong speed regardless of the terrain. He seemed never to tire and always seemed surprised when they told him it was time to rest or eat. He helped Melinda walk during the worst of her cold, and even now hovered close by her side as she made her way down the hill at the start of their walk.

It was after they got to the bottom of the hill that they heard the first of the noises. Trident was bringin up the rear and she yelled a loud “shush.” They all stopped in their tracks and looked back. Trident stared behind them and they heard the jingle of guardsmen shirts. Samuel guided Melinda over to a nearby tree stand, and the rest followed. The trees were thin and had shed most of their leaves for the winter. They started to back into the trees, trying to get further from the path they had been following.

On top of the hill they saw the first of the old guards. Four of them crested the hill along with four old women. They carried light bags on their back, and the guardsmen all had their pole arms. They moved quickly over the ground in a semi-run. Theodore had never seen the old women move so fast, but even heavily loaded with their bags, they moved as fast as the guards.

They got to the bottom of the hill and stopped when they came to the area where the four of them had slept. One of the old guards bent down and touched the snow with his gloved hand. They began to speak rapidly in their guttural language. One of the guards took a step toward the trees, and the four of them held their breath as he peered into the stand.

They continued their conversation. One of the old woman spoke rapidly and louder than the others. After she finished the rest nodded and they began to run up the hill.

The four stayed in the trees for sometime in silence. Finally Melinda broke the silence. Her voice was better than the previous night, but she still sounded congested. “Do you think they were looking for us?” she asked the obvious question that was on everyone’s mind.

At first nobody responded, and then Trident, Samuel, and Theodore started talking all at once.

“Of course they were looking for us,” Theodore said. “We never should have left in the first place.”

“Maybe they were trying to catch up to the other group,” Samuel offered.

“We should get moving,” Trident said. “They will know we stayed there overnight, and they must know we could not have gotten far since last evening.”

Their camp was rather apparent. Although no snow survived to the morning, where they had slept had been protected from the rain, and it was the only dry patch left on this side of the mountain. The drizzle continued into the morning, and it would not have taken much conjecture to figure out that someone had slept there.

“It could be that they are not looking for us,” Samuel offered again. “Did you see how fast they ran? I never saw the old ladies run that fast in the tents.”

Theodore had the same thought. “It is not even the old ladies that worried me. Did you see how those old guardsmen moved? I always thought they were slow, particularly when they spent most of their time sleep, at least when we were looking.”

There was a loud assent. “We should get moving,” Melinda said. “If they know where we are, the faster we move the better.”

“We should head up the mountains in the trees,” Samuel said. “We will not make as good time, but we should at least be wary if they are following us.”

Since Samuel had been the only one who thought they might not be following them, the rest quickly agreed. They shouldered their packs and began the journey up the hill through the trees. At first it was easier to move up the trees. They could pull on the tree trunks, which were leaning a bit away from the hillside trying to hold onto the ground. But the trees grew close together, and it became more difficult for Samuel to find easy routes through the trees and up the hill. They kept the path that the old women and the guards had taken within sight so they knew the direction they were heading.

“This is ridiculous,” Trident said. “We should head off in the other direction, so if they do come down the mountain, they will not see us.”

“We have to keep that path in view,” Melinda said. She was focused and as always sure of her decisions. We need to know where they went so we know how to get over the mountain. I am not sure there are that many ways to get over the mountain, and if we lose this way, we may end up having to return to the tent city.”

Everyone knew she was right. They kept their head down and tried to ignore the rain as they worked their way up through the heavily wooded area, trying to keep the path in sight and still remain out of sight of the path in case the old women and their guards return.

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